In 1899, Theodore Roosevelt was starting his first term as governor of Albany, New York. In the years prior, he had been the Assistant Secretary of the Navy in Washington D.C. (1897-1898) and had served as Lt. Colonel, and later promoted to Full Colonel, of the Rough Riders regiment in the Spanish-American War (1898).
Teddy Roosevelt was heavily for imperialism, including the annexation, or joining, of the Philippines. To really understand this position, look to the definition of imperialism. Stated by John Hobson, imperialism is “the endeavor of the great controllers of industry to broaden the channel for the flow of their surplus wealth by seeking foreign markets and foreign investments to take off the goods and capital they cannot use at home.” By this, he means that in the economic interests of a great and growing nation, such as America, it is important and smart of the leaders of the industry to spread out and use foreign markets to gain more wealth and power for the country. Roosevelt showed his support for imperialism in one of the most obvious ways possible, he fought in the Spanish-American, which was over Cuba. Theodore Roosevelt was seen to some as an “exuberant imperialist” who thought that a way to reinvigorate the nation by restoring the influence of war would be the acquisition of empire, including the Philippines.
By the US moving to take over the Philippines, they were showing their readiness to adopt the new imperialism and re-surfaced the belief in manifest destiny. America wanted to acquire this land largely for economic reasons as well as imperialism and manifest destiny. The depression of 1893 along with European restrictive tariff policies portrayed a fear for businesses and the shrinking of markets. With more opportunities in foreign markets, the US had a greater chance of staying in economic control. List of Reasons for Interest in Topic:
Imperialism
Economic Interests
Manifest Destiny
References:
President McKinley
Capt. Alfred T. Mahan
Sen. Albert Beveridge
Works Cited:
Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation: a concise history of the American people.. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.
Heilbroner, Robert L.. The worldly philosophers: the lives, times, and ideas of the great economic thinkers.. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1953. Print.
SarDesai, D. R.. Southeast Asia, past & present. 2nd ed. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1997. Print.
Teddy Roosevelt was heavily for imperialism, including the annexation, or joining, of the Philippines. To really understand this position, look to the definition of imperialism. Stated by John Hobson, imperialism is “the endeavor of the great controllers of industry to broaden the channel for the flow of their surplus wealth by seeking foreign markets and foreign investments to take off the goods and capital they cannot use at home.” By this, he means that in the economic interests of a great and growing nation, such as America, it is important and smart of the leaders of the industry to spread out and use foreign markets to gain more wealth and power for the country. Roosevelt showed his support for imperialism in one of the most obvious ways possible, he fought in the Spanish-American, which was over Cuba. Theodore Roosevelt was seen to some as an “exuberant imperialist” who thought that a way to reinvigorate the nation by restoring the influence of war would be the acquisition of empire, including the Philippines.
By the US moving to take over the Philippines, they were showing their readiness to adopt the new imperialism and re-surfaced the belief in manifest destiny. America wanted to acquire this land largely for economic reasons as well as imperialism and manifest destiny. The depression of 1893 along with European restrictive tariff policies portrayed a fear for businesses and the shrinking of markets. With more opportunities in foreign markets, the US had a greater chance of staying in economic control.
List of Reasons for Interest in Topic:
References:
Works Cited: